Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Alex Sink Running For Congress

It appears I am going to have to eat my words. I had serious doubts that Alex Sink would run for the seat of the late Bill Young. Sink told the Tampa Bay Times she is officially running.

"Washington's broken. And I, like everybody else I know, is angry and mad about the logjam, about shutting down the government, about not understanding the impact it was going to have on small businesses and people. The people up there just don't seem to be able to work together," said Sink, who had considered running for governor again but ruled that out in late September.

"I'm somebody who's solved problems, has a long history of working with Republicans and Democrats to get things done," said Sink, who used to run Bank of America's Florida operations and was the state's CFO from 2007-11. "I believe I can be an effective advocate for the people of Pinellas County and get to Washington and make a difference."

Saying "Washington is broken" is the most unoriginal thing a politician running for Congress can say. Would you actively campaign for a job at Wal-Mart or some other company you feel is broken? Sink needs to be more creative with her talking points. I wonder how progressive activists will feel about Sink's Bank of America background. These activists relate more to Occupy Wallstreet than Lawrence Summers.

Sink plans on moving to Pinellas County. Sink currently lives in Thonotosassa. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, chairma of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is accusing Sink of being a carpetbagger. Moving across the Bay is hardly carpetbagging.

It appears that the Florida Democratic establishment will discard Jessica Ehrlich for Sink. TBT political reporter Adam Smith asks is it sexist for the Democratic establishment to only allow one woman to run in the primary. The answer is hell yes.

Sink worked in the banking industry. Ehrlich worked at Goldman Sachs.Welcome to the 1percent primary. Democrats need the seat in order to win the House. Progressives should be under no illusion that either of these women are the next Elizabeth Warren.